Waving goodbye to your family to fight on one of the most perilous fronts of World War II would be a heartbreaking task for any family to bear.

But for one pair of brothers, the strain of serving your country on the “the worst journey in the world” was eased – after they were both assigned to serve side-by-side on the same ship.

John Edwards, 89, has spoken out for the first time of his experiences aboard the Arctic Convoys in Northern Europe, as the UK Government prepares to offer veterans of the conflict the first specific service medal for their efforts.

It comes after Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) rules prevented around 3,000 veterans collecting a medal from the Russian Government for bravery in delivering supplies to the Soviet Union amid constant danger of German U-Boat attacks.

Mr Edwards, from Abercynon near Mountain Ash, welcomed the announcement of a new medal – nearly 70 years after he and his late brother Ffrangcon served in the Battle of North Cape and helped sink the Nazi destroyer Scharnhorst.

Mr Edwards said: “My brother was actually 18 months younger than I was, and pretended to be 18 to join the navy, when he was actually 16.

“I had been given 18 months to do a teacher training course, then called up to serve on the ships and, would you believe, they sent me to the HMS Jamaica, where my brother was going.

“Because he was pretending to be older, I had to be his ‘younger’ brother – which I definitely was not.”

While Mr Edwards worked as a decoder on the ship, Ffrangcon was a seaman, so were stationed on different parts of the ship and often on different shifts.

But the brothers endured sub-zero temperatures and blizzards that threatened to topple ships over.

“The big danger was being snowed on so heavily that we had to do emergency clearing because the ship could easily becomes top-heavy,” Mr Edwards said.

“My main memory was not being frightened, I was too young to know all the dangers. All I know was that my own ‘heroic action’ was standing 20ft behind the captain and became a messenger boy because we couldn’t break the radio silence while the Scharnhorst was making its way into a trap that had been set.”

The Echo has mounted a campaign for the FCO to reverse a decision to block an attempt by Russia to award the Ushakov Medal to veterans of the Convoy.

Officials argue that rules state British servicemen cannot accept and wear medals from foreign governments more than five years after service ended.

Veterans of the conflict – described by Winston Churchill as the “worst journey in the world” – had campaigned for decades for recognition, with many saying the decision by David Cameron to award a Arctic Convoy Star in December came after most had died.

One South Wales veteran, Captain Donald Butcher, died on Remembrance Sunday last year, having never received direct recognition.

And Mr Edwards said that a reversal of the FCO block, combined with the new award, would be “very welcome”.

He said: “I think it would be a good decision. There aren’t many of us left. I am very grateful that the issue has been highlighted.”